Turkish president to pay 2-day visit to Kazakhstan

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay an official visit to Astana on Dec. 11-12 at the invitation of his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev.

According to a statement from the Turkish Presidency on Friday, Erdogan will hold a face-to-face meeting with Nazarbayev followed by inter-delegation sessions.

Bilateral relations, as well as regional and international developments will be discussed during Erdogan's visit, the statement said.

Preparations for next year’s third meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between Kazakhstan and Turkey will be also discussed.

The council’s first meeting took place during Nazarbayev's 2012 visit to Turkey.

Turkey was the first country to recognize Kazakhstan’s independence on Dec. 16, 1991, and diplomatic relations were established in March, 1992.